350Z vs. Cayman/Audi TT/Alfa Brera
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350Z vs. Cayman/Audi TT/Alfa Brera
Found this article on the Z from "The Independent" in the UK. It's a good read if you take the time. Enjoy...
http://www.independent.co.uk/living/...cle2609678.ece
Road Test: Nissan 350Z 2007
The new Nissan is a big improvement on a car that needed few modifications. John Simister sees how the 350Z stacks up against the Audi, Alfa and Porsche
Model: Nissan 350Z
Price: from £26,795
Engine: 3,498cc, V6 cylinders, 24 valves, 313bhp at 6,800rpm, 264lb ft at 4,800rpm
Transmission: six-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive
Performance: 155mph, 0-62 in 5.7sec, 24.1mpg official average
CO2: 280g/km
It is not often that a car of obvious pace, glamour and driving appeal can be called a bargain, but it's true of the Nissan 350Z. Let us make some price comparisons. The cheapest version of the 3.5-litre, 313bhp, V6-engined Z-car costs £26,795, but you'll pay £29,250 for an Alfa Brera 3.2, £29,285 for an Audi TT 3.2 and a hefty £36,220 for the cheapest, 2.7-litre Porsche Cayman.
So, what's missing from the Nissan? Compared with the Alfa and the Audi, it's four-wheel drive. Does that matter? In reality, only if the United Kingdom disappears under a blanket of slippery snow.
The Nissan has the once conventional layout of a front engine driving the rear wheels, a layout excellent for giving a car poise, balance and the right sort of interactive driving pleasure. The Alfa and Audi have four-wheel drive only because they are based on architecture originally intended for front-wheel drive, and diverting power to the rear wheels is an attempt to mimic the rear-wheel drive handling characteristics desirable in a sports car. What is being touted as a virtue is really only a remedy. So don't feel shortchanged with the Nissan.
And Nissan versus Porsche Cayman? Price is on Nissan's side here even if the mid-engined car from Stuttgart makes a strong case for engineering purity. It has rear-wheel drive like the 350Z, of course, but its engine location gives it quick responses akin to those of a racing car, because the masses are concentrated towards the middle. But does that justify the price premium, especially when its engine is feebler? It depends on what you want.
The Z-car has just had a mid-life facelift, and the car you see here is the new model. Once again, Nissan likes to portray the 350Z in orange; last time (at the launch in 2003) it was a violent metallic hue redolent of a fizzy Fanta, this time it's a lighter, pearlier version.
Colour apart, you can tell the new Nissan by the power bulge on its bonnet. It's there because the sonorous V6 engine has become taller despite retaining its 3.5-litre capacity.
The engine's cylinder block is 8.4mm taller than before. That means the pistons are 8.4mm further away from the crankshaft when they are at the top of their stroke. The connecting rods are longer, which means they move through a smaller angle as the crankshaft rotates. This in turn reduces the side forces on the pistons as they transmit their forces to the crankshaft, which means the engine can run faster without causing excessive wear on the pistons.
Thus reconfigured, the Nissan's engine can now spin at up to 7,500rpm instead of 7,000. Its crankshaft has bigger bearings to suit, and new, straighter intake channels in the cylinder heads ensure enough air gets through to take advantage of the changes. These redesigned cylinder heads also have a better flow of coolant around the spark plugs, so heat is dissipated better. And that allows both a higher compression ratio and the spark to be timed to happen earlier, to the benefit of power and fuel efficiency.
I hope you're still with me. The outcome is power raised from a more-than-adequate 280bhp to a yet-keener 313bhp (outputs well ahead of those rivals' engines).
Some cars feel fine on the road, maybe even quite sporty, but go to pieces in the fast open spaces of a racetrack. Others are terrific on a track but become either tiresomely turbulent or frustratingly inert on the road. The great cars cope with both environments. So will the 350Z make the grade?
The Castle Combe circuit in Wiltshire is one of the fastest tracks in Britain, or was until it gained a couple of chicanes. If a car has potentially frightening handling characteristics they will be laid bare here. But as I brake hard for the hairpin, with the 350Z still a little unsettled from the previous left-hander, all is well. Turn into the hairpin, squeeze the accelerator, feel the tail squat and drift a little in proper rear-wheel-drive fashion. It's a delight. The Nissan stays flat, firm and stable all the time. The steering is quick and feels properly connected to the front wheels, and I'd happily lap the track all day. A few laps in the convertible version shows that it, too, is happy on the track.
This much I expected, because the 350Z has always been good at these things. On the road, though, its biggest problem has been its hard-edged ride and, on coarse surfaces, a road roar that's close to unacceptable. So out on the roads of Wiltshire I'm keen to discover if the coupé (the version worse afflicted) has become a reformed character after four years of customer feedback.
It has. The edges on broken road surfaces are rounded off now, and the road roar is under control. I feel sure that there have been significant changes to suspension settings and the rubber used in the various pivots, in which case the engineers have done a remarkable job given that the steering and handling are as alert as ever. Back at the Nissan base, however, I learn that the suspension is entirely unchanged.
It's all down to the tyres, now changed from Bridgestone RE040 to RE050A. If you had never really believed that different tyres could behave so differently, then this should convince you. They can alter radically how a car feels and sounds as it interacts with the road.
And the engine? It feels more muscular but, strangely, it's a little less sweet when revved hard despite its new-found ability to be treated thus. It's an improvement overall, though, and the combination of the engine and that simple change of tyres fixes what little was wrong with the 350Z before.
The fact is that it's a great car, now made even better. It is full of little details such as the Z motifs in unlikely places (forming the vanes of the fresh-air trunking that connects the dashboard to the door vents, for example), or a driver's seat that is more prominently bolstered than the passenger's seat.
The original 240Z of the 1970s proved that the Japanese could make sports/GT cars as well as anyone, and the 350Z continues the story.
It's the choice of the class. It's fabulous to look at, more fun than the Alfa and the Audi, much better value than the Porsche, and quicker than all of them. Some people will have trouble with the badge, though. But that's their bad luck.
The Rivals
Alfa Brera 3.2 V6 Q4 £29,250
Derived from a Giugiaro concept car, with dramatic looks spoiled by excessive overhangs. Weight hampers pace but sounds glorious. It can just about carry four people.
Audi TT 3.2 V6 £29,285
The partly aluminium TT is much better to drive than the old one but this quattro-drive V6 lacks the delicacy of the front-drive 2.0 T. Still, beautifully made and furnished.
Porsche Cayman £36,220
It's one of the most dynamically pure cars you can buy, but this 'base' 2.7-litre version isn't particularly quick. Unusually, costs more than its open-top relative, the Boxster.
http://www.independent.co.uk/living/...cle2609678.ece
Road Test: Nissan 350Z 2007
The new Nissan is a big improvement on a car that needed few modifications. John Simister sees how the 350Z stacks up against the Audi, Alfa and Porsche
Model: Nissan 350Z
Price: from £26,795
Engine: 3,498cc, V6 cylinders, 24 valves, 313bhp at 6,800rpm, 264lb ft at 4,800rpm
Transmission: six-speed gearbox, rear-wheel drive
Performance: 155mph, 0-62 in 5.7sec, 24.1mpg official average
CO2: 280g/km
It is not often that a car of obvious pace, glamour and driving appeal can be called a bargain, but it's true of the Nissan 350Z. Let us make some price comparisons. The cheapest version of the 3.5-litre, 313bhp, V6-engined Z-car costs £26,795, but you'll pay £29,250 for an Alfa Brera 3.2, £29,285 for an Audi TT 3.2 and a hefty £36,220 for the cheapest, 2.7-litre Porsche Cayman.
So, what's missing from the Nissan? Compared with the Alfa and the Audi, it's four-wheel drive. Does that matter? In reality, only if the United Kingdom disappears under a blanket of slippery snow.
The Nissan has the once conventional layout of a front engine driving the rear wheels, a layout excellent for giving a car poise, balance and the right sort of interactive driving pleasure. The Alfa and Audi have four-wheel drive only because they are based on architecture originally intended for front-wheel drive, and diverting power to the rear wheels is an attempt to mimic the rear-wheel drive handling characteristics desirable in a sports car. What is being touted as a virtue is really only a remedy. So don't feel shortchanged with the Nissan.
And Nissan versus Porsche Cayman? Price is on Nissan's side here even if the mid-engined car from Stuttgart makes a strong case for engineering purity. It has rear-wheel drive like the 350Z, of course, but its engine location gives it quick responses akin to those of a racing car, because the masses are concentrated towards the middle. But does that justify the price premium, especially when its engine is feebler? It depends on what you want.
The Z-car has just had a mid-life facelift, and the car you see here is the new model. Once again, Nissan likes to portray the 350Z in orange; last time (at the launch in 2003) it was a violent metallic hue redolent of a fizzy Fanta, this time it's a lighter, pearlier version.
Colour apart, you can tell the new Nissan by the power bulge on its bonnet. It's there because the sonorous V6 engine has become taller despite retaining its 3.5-litre capacity.
The engine's cylinder block is 8.4mm taller than before. That means the pistons are 8.4mm further away from the crankshaft when they are at the top of their stroke. The connecting rods are longer, which means they move through a smaller angle as the crankshaft rotates. This in turn reduces the side forces on the pistons as they transmit their forces to the crankshaft, which means the engine can run faster without causing excessive wear on the pistons.
Thus reconfigured, the Nissan's engine can now spin at up to 7,500rpm instead of 7,000. Its crankshaft has bigger bearings to suit, and new, straighter intake channels in the cylinder heads ensure enough air gets through to take advantage of the changes. These redesigned cylinder heads also have a better flow of coolant around the spark plugs, so heat is dissipated better. And that allows both a higher compression ratio and the spark to be timed to happen earlier, to the benefit of power and fuel efficiency.
I hope you're still with me. The outcome is power raised from a more-than-adequate 280bhp to a yet-keener 313bhp (outputs well ahead of those rivals' engines).
Some cars feel fine on the road, maybe even quite sporty, but go to pieces in the fast open spaces of a racetrack. Others are terrific on a track but become either tiresomely turbulent or frustratingly inert on the road. The great cars cope with both environments. So will the 350Z make the grade?
The Castle Combe circuit in Wiltshire is one of the fastest tracks in Britain, or was until it gained a couple of chicanes. If a car has potentially frightening handling characteristics they will be laid bare here. But as I brake hard for the hairpin, with the 350Z still a little unsettled from the previous left-hander, all is well. Turn into the hairpin, squeeze the accelerator, feel the tail squat and drift a little in proper rear-wheel-drive fashion. It's a delight. The Nissan stays flat, firm and stable all the time. The steering is quick and feels properly connected to the front wheels, and I'd happily lap the track all day. A few laps in the convertible version shows that it, too, is happy on the track.
This much I expected, because the 350Z has always been good at these things. On the road, though, its biggest problem has been its hard-edged ride and, on coarse surfaces, a road roar that's close to unacceptable. So out on the roads of Wiltshire I'm keen to discover if the coupé (the version worse afflicted) has become a reformed character after four years of customer feedback.
It has. The edges on broken road surfaces are rounded off now, and the road roar is under control. I feel sure that there have been significant changes to suspension settings and the rubber used in the various pivots, in which case the engineers have done a remarkable job given that the steering and handling are as alert as ever. Back at the Nissan base, however, I learn that the suspension is entirely unchanged.
It's all down to the tyres, now changed from Bridgestone RE040 to RE050A. If you had never really believed that different tyres could behave so differently, then this should convince you. They can alter radically how a car feels and sounds as it interacts with the road.
And the engine? It feels more muscular but, strangely, it's a little less sweet when revved hard despite its new-found ability to be treated thus. It's an improvement overall, though, and the combination of the engine and that simple change of tyres fixes what little was wrong with the 350Z before.
The fact is that it's a great car, now made even better. It is full of little details such as the Z motifs in unlikely places (forming the vanes of the fresh-air trunking that connects the dashboard to the door vents, for example), or a driver's seat that is more prominently bolstered than the passenger's seat.
The original 240Z of the 1970s proved that the Japanese could make sports/GT cars as well as anyone, and the 350Z continues the story.
It's the choice of the class. It's fabulous to look at, more fun than the Alfa and the Audi, much better value than the Porsche, and quicker than all of them. Some people will have trouble with the badge, though. But that's their bad luck.
The Rivals
Alfa Brera 3.2 V6 Q4 £29,250
Derived from a Giugiaro concept car, with dramatic looks spoiled by excessive overhangs. Weight hampers pace but sounds glorious. It can just about carry four people.
Audi TT 3.2 V6 £29,285
The partly aluminium TT is much better to drive than the old one but this quattro-drive V6 lacks the delicacy of the front-drive 2.0 T. Still, beautifully made and furnished.
Porsche Cayman £36,220
It's one of the most dynamically pure cars you can buy, but this 'base' 2.7-litre version isn't particularly quick. Unusually, costs more than its open-top relative, the Boxster.
1+ to that. I started reading the first sentence, and stopped once I saw everything else.
Z > all those cars.
I'm sorry to people that own them, but it's the sad truth.
In performance at least. Looks are subjective, but 2 of the look like chick cars, the Cayman is sexy, but IMO, Z is sexier.
I'm sorry to people that own them, but it's the sad truth.
In performance at least. Looks are subjective, but 2 of the look like chick cars, the Cayman is sexy, but IMO, Z is sexier.
Originally Posted by Devil Z
Z > all those cars.
I'm sorry to people that own them, but it's the sad truth.
In performance at least. Looks are subjective, but 2 of the look like chick cars, the Cayman is sexy, but IMO, Z is sexier.
I'm sorry to people that own them, but it's the sad truth.
In performance at least. Looks are subjective, but 2 of the look like chick cars, the Cayman is sexy, but IMO, Z is sexier.
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Wow, I think the Z is a pretty sweet looking car and all, but the Cayman S is just a gorgeous car. It would be a tough call if I could choose between the two, but I would probably take the keys to the Porsche. I have never really driven one though, so I cant fully say. But Im pretty sure its one bada** driving machine.
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Joined: Aug 2006
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Originally Posted by Deftones
Ehhh... got cliffnotes?
I love my Z and all but Porsche is my end all. A nice Cayman S sitting in my garage for me to look at and drive everything would put a bigger smile on my face then my Z does. That is NO dig at my Z because when I bought it a little over a year I passed on some other cars that had more power like a Vette simply because the Z gave me a more emotional type feeling then cars like the Vette did. Sometimes it not just about pure HP.
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